


Space Junk

by Enchantable



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Implied Relationships, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24600322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enchantable/pseuds/Enchantable
Summary: “You okay?” Michael asks.“I’m good,” Alex says, shaking his head, “I just realized how much of an idiot I am,” he looks at Michael who looks confused still, “Buffy was Forrest’s dog,” he explains, “he left her behind,” he sighs, “I thought the dog was real.”
Relationships: Michael Guerin & Alex Manes, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 14
Kudos: 195
Collections: Something Cosmic





	1. Chapter 1

“Look if you don’t want her she’s going to the pound,” Wyatt says, “she’s too fat to be of any good on the farm.”

“Do you need to think of the most dickish thing to say? Or does it just naturally come out of your mouth?”

Wyatt’s face screws up but Alex snatches the leash from him before he can say anything. He’s done listening to assholes with the last name Long. On the other end of the leash Buffy regards him with a mix of wariness and disgust. It’s more tempting than Alex would like to admit to shove it back at Wyatt, but his grip tightens on the leash.

“Glad you got a souvenir,” Wyatt sneers and storms off.

Alex tries not to rub the most recent addition to his scar collection and instead looks down at the dog. Buffy whines loudly and the sound matches whatever’s going on his recently repaired gut. Emotionally at least. Physically he’s been given the almost all clear, which for him is good enough. He kneels down and looks at the beagle who backs away.

“Yeah, I get that,” Alex tells her, “do you remember me?” He holds a hand out for her to sniff but she turns her snout up, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He straightens up. Buffy looks in the direction she came from but Wyatt’s long gone. Alex has no idea what to do with a dog, much less a beagle who seems to like him about as much as her owner actually did, but standing in the road with her leash he realizes they’re in the same boat. Both left standing there, wondering what the hell they’re supposed to do now. When he glances down again, Buffy is looking up at him. She’s still reproachful but she hasn’t run and Alex is at a point where he’ll take what he can get.

“You wanna go home or should we go to the pet store first?” He asks. She perks up slightly at that, “pet store it is,” he says, “come on.”

* * *

  
Since losing his leg Alex has been in several hand to hand situations, gotten kidnapped, discovered aliens and blown up a handful of buildings. He’d say he’s good with his prosthetic. Some days he uses his cane but it’s far and few between. He’s good but he hasn’t had a consistently strong pressure yanking his cane arm walk after walk. And there have been so many fucking walks. Buffy is overweight and though her diet is the main thing, walking helps. It helps one of them at least.

“Buffy, come on,” he says, “heel.”

Buffy huffs, lowers her body and digs in her paws.

Her blatant disregard makes the military man in him seethe. He doesn’t know how one beagle is more difficult to control than than a group of soldiers, but here they are. Buffy does not respect the chain of command. Or maybe she just doesn’t respect him. Alex thinks he’d be used to the universe ignoring what he wants but the manifestation of it in an overweight beagle left behind by a man who manipulated him so openly is a fresh wound on his ruined ego.

“Buffy,” he says.

Buffy puffs herself up and erupts into her signature barks. How such a loud noise can come out of such a small creature is beyond him. Buffy spends a lot of her time napping and laying on her back, but when she gets going it’s impossible to stop or ignore. Alex is used to people staring at him on the street. He’s learned to dismiss the judgement about things he knows he can’t change. For the first time though he gets it. He’s pretty sure he’d cross the street too if he saw what was happening.

“Buffy—“ he starts. She keeps going crazy, “Buffy come on,” he’s got nothing else so he scoops her up again. Immediately she stops barking, “seriously?” He sighs, “you know we’re both supposed to be walking,” Buffy looks over her shoulder at him, “God, fine,” he shifts the weight in his arms and starts walking, “I need the workout anyway.”

“Aren’t you both supposed to be walking?”

Alex turns around to see Michael standing there looking confused. He’s not close enough to hear what he just said, but the fact that it’s the first thing that comes to his mind makes Alex’s chest tight. Buffy gives Michael a look of complete disdain. Michael raises his eyebrows at the dog’s reaction, though Alex is fairly certain Michael is just glad to have an excuse not to look at him. Not that he can fully blame him, not with everything that’s happened recently.

“When did you get a dog?” Michael asks.

“A few days ago,” Alex says, “it was me or the pound,” he explains, “I wasn’t looking to get one.”

“Right,” Michael says slowly.

“Her name’s Buffy,” Alex volunteers. Michael finally meets his eye, arching his eyebrows at him.

“You sure you weren’t looking to get a dog?” Michael asks. Alex looks at him questioningly, “if I had to guess what you would name a dog, Buffy’s pretty high on the list—“

The truth smacks him across the face. Buffy squirms in his arms and he’s all too glad to put her down, even though that means he’s forced to figure out something else to do with his hands. Something that doesn’t involve punching things. All he can do is laugh bitterly at how stupid he is. Laugh and pretend that he doesn’t see the alarm on Michael’s face.

“You okay?” Michael asks.

“I’m good,” Alex says, shaking his head, “I just realized how much of an idiot I am,” he looks at Michael who looks confused still, “Buffy was Forrest’s dog,” he explains, “he left her behind,” he sighs, “I thought the dog was real.”

“She looks real to me,” Michael says.

“He named her Buffy,” Alex retorts. Michael winces, “like I said, I’m an idiot.”

They both look at Buffy who gives them a look back that says they are both idiots. Alex doesn’t think either of them would disagree after the things that have happened lately. But realizing that there’s a good chance the dog was adopted just to manipulate him is salt in that wound. Not by Forrest necessarily but by someone in Deep Sky.

“Your dog seems to agree,” Michael points out.

“Shit,” Alex mutters looking down at the beagle, then he looks at Michael, “what do you know about microchips?

“What do I know about what?” Michael asks blankly.

  
“I need your help,” Alex says.

It’s got nothing to do with what just happened but Michael goes serious and nods. Alex tries not to be affected by it. Or by how Michael seems committed to being open after months of them lying to each other.

“Whatever you need,” he says.

There’s a weight to his words that lasts a moment before Buffy decides right there is a good place to go potty.

* * *

“Up you go,” Alex says and gets Buffy onto the table, “good girl.”

Buffy huffs at the compliment but when she spots Kyle she immediately starts wagging her tail. Because Kyle has that effect. He grins and scratches her ears as Buffy rolls onto her back. Alex looks over at Michael who seems surprised by this turn of events.  
“Good thing he wasn’t trying to seduce you,” Michael says, “she’s already fallen for it.”

Kyle looks at him sharply and Michael realizes his mistake with a swear but Alex waves him off. Whether or not there were genuine feelings is an issue for another day. Or another lifetime, if he gets his way. Thankfully neither Michael nor Kyle have made the mistake of suggesting he get rid of the dog in case Deep Sky is spying on him with her. Kyle picks up the device and scans Buffy as best he can until Alex reaches out to help hold her steady. They find the first microchip easily enough. It’s just surprising how easily they also find the second one.

“They put a tracker in the dog?” Kyle shakes his head.

Alex agrees. It seems stupid with all the messed up shit they’ve done, but looking at Buffy with her upturned nose and disdainful glares and imagining her being picked out and named and then used like that makes him ache. Especially if it was in the pursuit of him. It’s not the only thing that’s wrong but Alex has always had a soft spot for animals and it’s the first thing that makes his throat tighten.

“We have to get them out of her.”

“We will,” Michael says, “first lemme make sure they don’t work.”

“It’s not going to hurt her, is it?” Alex asks as Michael reaches out.

Kyle and Michael trade looks and Alex knows his voice sounds odd but the dog’s been through enough. Especially on his behalf. A part of him thinks giving her away might be best but if Deep Sky is still using her then who knows. He could give her away and bring more people into this.

“Alex,” Michael comes around the table and stands next to him, doesn’t say anything when Alex shifts back, “look, it’s not gonna hurt her. I’m going to just disable them. We’ll figure out how to get them out of her after.”

Buffy rolls over and gives Kyle’s hands a lick before she reluctantly belly crawls to Alex. She doesn’t look thrilled about having to come to him, but she sits in between him and Michael and looks at Michael with her usual disdain. It’s not full on affection but Alex appreciates the defense all the same. He looks up at Michael.

“Okay, do it,” he says.

Michael puts his hands on Buffy’s shoulders and focuses. Alex waits for her to yelp or do anything but she just glares at Michael like this is the most ridiculous thing she’s ever been subjected to. He pulls his hands back and blinks rapidly, going a little pale. It’s one of the effects of whatever they did to him, his powers are there but using them takes more effort than it did. No-one knows when they’ll fully return.

“Kyle get the—“

Kyle gets the bin just in time for Michael to puke in it. Buffy flattens her ears and decides she’s done enough comfort one day. She trots back over to Kyle and flops on her back, bracing a paw against his arm so he has maximum access to her belly. Before Alex can think about what he’s doing his hand settles on Michael’s shoulder as he heaves. It’s another sign of how badly he’s fucked up and Michael consenting to it under duress doesn’t make him feel any better. But he forces himself to hold onto Michael’s shoulder as he empties his stomach.

“Shit that sucks,” he mutters, unthinkingly wrapping his hand around Alex’s elbow. Alex doesn’t let go of his shoulder as he wipes the back of his mouth. He looks up at Alex and gives a quick, shaky smile, “I disabled the chips on both, they’re dead,” he says.

“Thank you.”

Michael nods, looking more relieved than Alex is comfortable with at the words. He tears his eyes away to look at the love fest going on between Buffy and Kyle. It’s honestly hard to say whose fallen more for who. Alex pulls away and tries not to focus on how cold his elbow and palm feel without Michael’s signature heat.

“Now we just gotta get them out,” Michael says.

Kyle seems to be aware they are all looking at him intently. He opens his mouth to reject whatever they’re going to say and Buffy whines for him to continue the belly rubs. It’s written all over his face that of all the ways he saw his life going, this definitely wasn’t one of them. He looks down at Buffy.

“Am I still gonna be your favorite?” He asks her.

Buffy huffs.

“I think that’s a yes,” Michael says.

* * *

  
“Your back hurting?”

Alex winces at the question, he thought he had done a good job of hiding it. The concern is there in Michael’s voice and it’s not well hidden at all. Alex looks over at him, seeing the guilt in his eyes.

“It’s from picking up Buffy,” he says, “she’s having trouble getting on the furniture.”

It’s almost laughable how furniture is so complicated in his house. Alex never thought the height of a seat could make such a difference in someone’s life. The perfect height for him though is apparently too much for his still overweight beagle. His best solution is to pick her up but for all her laziness Buffy isn’t good at staying put. It’s not overly painful but it’s not ideal while he’s still healing.

“Oh,” Michael says.

“She’ll get better,” Alex says, “she just has to lose some weight,” he rolls his shoulder, “and I have to heal.”

“She can’t stay off the furniture?” Michael asks. Alex glares, “just asking!” Michael says holding up his hands, “I never had a pet. I had a foster home where I wasn’t allowed on the couch once, it sucked.”

Alex doesn’t know how Michael can stand to be so casual about things like that. Mentioning something so devastating hasn’t even interrupted his rhythm in eating his fries.

“I’m sorry,” Alex says quietly. Michael acknowledges it with a quick nod, “I want her to be able to go where she wants,” he explains.

“Except maybe the bunker,” Michael points out.

“Okay maybe the bunker,” Alex agrees.

“What about stairs?” Michael asks, “they make stairs for dogs right?” His brow furrows, “your furniture is custom heigh though, right?” Then he perks up, “I can make her stairs.”

Alex almost chokes on his water. Michael’s response to everything was to throw his tools in his bunker and seal it up. Alex isn’t even sure he has the materials to build dog stairs. But it’s the first time he’s seen Michael look excited about building something.

“Are you okay with that?” He asks, “I can pay you.”

“You don’t have to,” Michael says, “if it gets Buffy to stop constantly stink eyeing me we’re good.”

“Just tell me how much they cost,” Alex says after a moment’s consideration.

He texts Michael the asked for measurements.

Michael doesn’t want to be alone with him and Alex can’t blame him. He doesn’t really want to be alone with Michael either. Not yet. It’s not until he hears the truck in the driveway that he even thinks more about it. The truck pulls in, parks and Michael gets out before Buffy starts going crazy. Alex feels a rush of affection for her.

“It’s Michael,” he says, “and he’s already almost inside.”

Buffy still puffs up like she’s done her job and Alex scratches her ears before he opens the door. Michael is standing there with two stairs in either hand and a black bag slung over his shoulder.

“Can I come in?” He asks.

“Yeah,” Alex says, his mouth dry, “of course,” he says, “come in.”

“Thanks,” Michael says. Buffy looks at him and howls. Michael glares, “the hat isn’t negotiable,” he tells her firmly, even as he takes it off and sets it aside.

Michael puts one of the stairs by the couch and hands Alex the other for his bed. Alex puts it down where it is and follows Michael to the back part of the house. Michael drops the bag and picks out a few tools before moving to the trap door.

“What’s all of this?” Alex asks.

“Eh I could tell you didn’t mean it when I said Buffy wasn’t allowed in the bunker,” he says, “so I put something together.”

“You built her an elevator?”

Michael shrugs and goes pink around the ears.

“Yeah I mean I want her to feel welcome,” he says, “and if you gotta hide I know you aren’t leaving her behind.”

Alex looks over at Buffy whose stink eyeing the stairs like she’d prefer to be carried. He wouldn’t leave her behind. He wouldn’t leave Michael behind either but just being alone in the same room is a lot. He doesn’t want to push this. He doesn’t know if Michael feels that as well.

“Can I get you anything?” He offers, “I have lemonade?”

Michael hesitates for a moment. Alex wonders if he’s read this wrong before Michael nods and Alex finds he can breathe again.

“That sounds good,” Michael says, “thanks.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also want to give a huge shout out to @savethedots. I took a long break from the fandom but was upset about Buffy-gate. I didn’t realize how upset I still was until I read their meta and then had to write something about a way that Buffy could go to Alex. 

“Buffy!”

Buffy tries to take off like a rocket and Alex leans back, gripping the leash so he doesn’t lose her. His balance is thrown horribly off and Buffy makes a gagging noise as her collar goes tight. He opens his mouth to reprimand her and she unleashes a series of sharp barks before turning back to straining.

“No!” Alex says firmly, “we’re not going over there. Buffy, come!” Instead of obeying his sharp command she barks louder and strains harder, “it’s not safe over there.” To his surprise, Buffy gives him a sharp look but relaxes. Alex breathes a sigh of relief and steps forward, “that’s a good—“ there’s a sharp yank and he finds himself in the dirt with the leash out of his hand, “Buffy!”

The beagle takes off. Alex gets quickly to his feet, fixes his prosthetic and takes off after her. Adrenaline slams into him. He may not have been looking for a dog and Buffy may have had the great misfortune of being here because of him, but the idea of the dog getting hurt isn’t one he can stand. The expertise and diet has worked too well. Buffy could aways put on speed when needed but her endurance is way up.

The site where Crash Con went up in flames isn’t one that Alex wants to revisit.

But it’s where Buffy is headed so he finds himself ducking under the pathetic excuse for a fence they’ve erected. It’s not like they have any great need for security, everything is either gone or it’s ash at this point. Still, Alex doesn’t like revisiting places where he almost died and his darkest secrets got revealed. But he likes the idea of Buffy being hurt a hell of a lot less. Buffy stops abruptly and immediately starts digging at the ground.  
“Buffy,” he catches up to her but she ignores him, “Buff, come on,” he says. When he reaches for her she moves away and continues to dig, “fine, but if you have to go to the vet you can’t guilt trip me over it this time.”

Buffy huffs and keeps digging, pausing only to shove her nose in the hole. Alex looks for anything sharp but it just seems like the worst she’s going to wind up with is a bath. Which he’s sure he’ll get the silent treatment for tonight. By the time she’s done digging, Buffy can practically fit her entire upper half in the hole she’s made. Alex fights the urge to groan. Buffy hates getting her ears cleaned and that’s where this is headed. Her tail starts wagging and she dives headfirst in, so the only thing sticking out is her butt and her tail.

“Wow she’s fast,” Michael says as Alex jumps out of his skin, “sorry.”  
“What are you doing here?” Alex demands.

“Same thing your dog is,” Michael says.

Alex frowns and looks down. This isn’t safe for either of them really. For a whole host of reasons. They all stay away from the crash site as much as possible. Or he thought they all did, it seems like Michael hasn’t been following that rule. Alex realizes he shouldn’t have thought for a second that he was, but he had. Briefly.

“I thought we were staying away from this place,” he says.

“Yeah I—“ Michael trails off, “I wanted to see if there was anything left.”

He doesn’t apologize and Alex isn’t sure why he wants him to. This wouldn’t be a big deal if not for the decade that came before. They are both trying very hard to move past it and maybe Michael’s having more luck but Alex finds himself constantly having to steer his thoughts away from it. Constantly not wanting to find a way to rip apart space and time until he can go back and make their younger selves not cause so much pain.

“You could have told me,” Alex says quietly.

“Yeah, I should’ve,” Michael agrees.

Before Alex can say anything else, Buffy pops up from the hole and bounds over to him. He sighs because she’s covered in mud and very pleased with herself, but she doesn’t look harmed. So at least there’s that, though he’ll save being sure of the until after he gets her clean. Buffy sits in front of him and looks at him purposefully until he realizes she’s got something in her mouth. Bending down, he sticks his hand out and she drops a piece of muddy glass in it before shoving her nose into his hand to be rewarded.   
“Good girl,” Alex says, scratching behind her ears as Buffy beams up at him. She’ll sulk otherwise, though he knows that teaching her to do what she just did is dumb as hell, “what did you find?”

He wipes the piece on his pants. Michael steps forward and looks at it. It takes Alex longer than he wishes to admit to realize what he’s holding. The hungry look in Michael’s eyes is the give away since there’s nothing remotely alien about the piece. It’s not until he deposits it in Michael’s hand that it glows. It’s not the pink of before, instead it’s a violet sheen but it glows all the same. When Michael rubs his thumb over it, a handful of sigils flash a bright blue.

“Does it say anything?” Alex asks.

“Not that I can understand,” Michael says with a tight smile.

Buffy catches sight of the piece glowing and barks loudly. Her tail bangs against the ground as she looks at Alex expectantly. He looks away from the piece to Buffy who puffs herself up. When Alex just stares at her she looks fractionally unsure before looking at the piece and then back at him.

“Does she know what this is?” Michael asks.

“No,” Alex says instantly. Michael raises his eyebrows, “I mean, I don’t think so?” Alex looks at Buffy whose gone from proud and excited to swinging between unsure and confused. Not at the piece but at Alex’s reaction, “Here, good girl,” he says, offering her a treat and bending down to pet her, “you did good.”

Buffy puffs up again and take the treat, rolling onto her back to show her stomach for more pets. She’s already so filthy Alex can’t scold her for that and bends down to scratch her belly. She very rarely feels secure enough to do it, but it seems this is the reaction she is expecting. She closes her eyes in full and utter contentment.

“I think she knows,” Michael says unnecessarily, “I saw things about beagles who do scent work and shit, when I was coming up with her stairs,” he adds, “maybe she was trained for it.”

Alex feels fresh outrage because that makes a whole lot of fucking sense. He’d always assumed that the dog had been adopted right before Forrest came to Roswell, precisely to get to him, he hadn’t considered that the dog was with Deep Sky for longer. Or that she had training.

“I figured she ran up to me—“ he swears, “but Maria was right next to me.”

“Shit,” Michael mutters. Buffy pants happily in the mud, “I’m glad I built your super beagle a way to get into the bunker,” he says.

Alex wonders briefly what their lives have come to now that he’s only mildly surprised by this talent Buffy has. Apparently their ability to find and work with aliens is just another thing that made him and Buffy useful to Deep Sky—until they weren’t.

“Do you, uh, need a hand bathing her?” Michael asks. Alex looks over at him, “I was working on planting some stuff before I got here so I have the hose all set up.”

Alex recognizes the apology for what it is. He’s able to give her a bath but it’s not exactly a pleasant experience. Baths are not Buffy’s favorite thing. Michael looks at him anxiously, looking like he wants to take the words back but can’t quite figure out how. 

“A leg,” Alex says. Michael looks confused, “I need an extra leg bathing her. Helps with the balance.”

Michael stares at him for a moment before he laughs, relieved. “I can help with that,” he promises.


End file.
